Record-breaking Crowds Enjoy Fair`s Entertainment, Attractions

Good weather and entertainers prompted record-breaking attendance during the fair`s first week, South Florida Fair assistant manager Rick Vymlatil said.

``The first weekend was very strong for us,`` he said. ``The weather has just been phenomenal, and our entertainment has been top-notch.``

In its 76th year, the fair attracted 300,568 people in its first week -- from the opening day on Monday through Sunday night.

According to Dianne Krause, fair press agent, 185,631 visitors passed through the gates last year from the Thursday opening through the first Sunday,

Last year`s total first-week attendance was tabulated on a four-day week, but Vymlatil said the 1988 difference in numbers is due to more than the three extra days.

``The midway is bigger, we`ve added exhibits and new entertainment. We have a lot more attractions,`` Vymlatil said.

Special days like Youth Day and discounts for senior citizens and war veterans also helped to draw in crowds.

Traffic jams and hours of waiting on the roads leading to the fair apparently have not been a deterrent.

Opening day this year brought 38,500 visitors, topping last year`s count of 15,000, and breaking the 1982 first-day record of 33,372.

School was closed on Monday and Tuesday, so fair officials offered free admission to children younger than 18 on Monday.

The first Saturday attendance was 101,000 this year, as compared with last year`s 99,400.

Vymlatil attributed much of that to the entertainment offered on Saturday.

``We started out on Saturday with strong entertainers, like the Gatlin Brothers, the Charlie Daniels Band and Dottie West,`` he said.

The biggest reasons for the record-breaking figures is expansion in the livestock area and art pavilion and new attractions, such as the Spirit of America and the Vietnam Veterans` war memorial, ``The Moving Wall.

``The whole idea of the fair is to provide more than what you can see in one day, so you`ll want to come back again,`` Vymlatil said.